Yahoo News Rishi Sunak scrapping free NHS prescriptions will ‘punish’ most vulnerable
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced tighter welfare rules in the autumn statement on Wednesday.
Rishi Sunak has been criticised over his government’s decision to cancel free NHS prescriptions for benefit claimants who do not look for a job.
In the autumn statement on Wednesday, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced tighter welfare rules that will mean unemployed people will potentially lose benefits.
The £2.5bn back-to-work plan had long been in the works. It means welfare recipients who do not get a job within 18 months will be forced to take on work experience under plans to get more people into employment. Those who do not comply will have their benefits - including access to free prescriptions and legal aid - cut off.
The move has been slammed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), opposition MPs and antipoverty campaign groups.
Tase Oputu, chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in England, described the announcement as “an incredibly disappointing move”.
She added that “prescription charges should not be used to punish some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens.”
Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, called the decision "immoral". She wrote on X: “Denying free prescriptions to punish people is immoral & will have dire health impacts.
“Life on benefits is grim & sanctions counterproductive. Govt's persistent pejorative language towards those not in work will drive people further from support, not towards it.”
While the Disability Benefits Consortium, a national coalition of more than 100 charities, described the government’s plan as a “cynical attack on disability benefits".
'Short-sighted move'
RPS Chair Oputu said: “No-one should be faced with a financial barrier to getting the medicines they need, regardless of their employment status.
“Pharmacy teams wants to focus on looking after patients, not policing prescription charges.
“This move puts them in a very difficult position of knowing that someone who needs life-saving medicines may not be able to get them.”
She added: “This short-sighted move will lead to worse health outcomes for patients, more hospital admissions, and additional pressure on the health service.
“That’s why we will continue to support the call for prescription charges in England to be abolished altogether.”
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Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, wrote on X: “Denying free prescriptions to punish people is immoral & will have dire health impacts.
“Life on benefits is grim & sanctions counterproductive. Govt's persistent pejorative language towards those not in work will drive people further from support, not towards it.”
Laura Cockram, chair of the Prescription Charges Coalition said: “It's worrying that at a time when the government should be trying to help more people manage the cost of living, they are instead looking at punitive measures for those who are unemployed."
The Disability Benefits Consortium said the plan would "have a devastating impact on those on the lowest incomes”.
United Response, a member of the consortium, said there was “little point forcing people into the wrong job as this will simply lead to a revolving door of staff” and called for “targeted and specialist support” for people “rather than using punitive punishments”.
Its chief executive Tim Cooper added: “Disability should not be framed as a lifestyle choice when there is a real risk of sanctions pushing people already dealing with a cost-of-living crisis further into poverty this winter.”
What are the new welfare rules?
The work capability assessment changes will apply to new claims only, with the reform coming in from 2025 onwards, the government said.
Welfare recipients who do not get a job within 18 months will be forced to take on work experience under plans to get more people into employment.
Those who do not comply will have their benefits, including access to free prescriptions and legal aid, cut off.
Hunt said the new rules are part of plans that will increase the number of people in work by around 200,000, which he says will "permanently" increase the size of the economy". Some critics have said many people forced into work will end up on low-paid jobs that will leave them still needing in-work benefits.
Worth saying though that most benefit reforms which have increased numbers in work have very largely got them into low paid, part time work, still on in work benefits https://t.co/Fq7QiUFKCJ
— Paul Johnson (@PJTheEconomist) November 22, 2023
As part of its back-to-work plan, the government is also expanding NHS Talking Therapies, which help people with mild and moderate mental health conditions including stress, anxiety and depression.
Ministers said funding would be provided to broaden access to the treatment and increase the number of sessions each person can access.
The move will lead to an estimated 384,000 additional people completing a course of treatment by 2028/29, according to Treasury documents.
